LOS ANGELES – A 17-year-old boy was struck and killed by two vehicles during a gang-related assault Sunday morning in South Los Angeles on the outskirts of a party that included at least 150 people, authorities said.
Relatives identified the victim as Matthew Lobos, a senior at Santee High School.
The death occurred shortly before 3 a.m. in the area of Avalon Boulevard and 62nd Street, according to Officer Norma Eisenman of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Media Relations Division.
A suspect driving nearby spotted an unattended parked vehicle with the engine running outside a residence, Eisenman said. The suspect exited his vehicle and got into the unattended vehicle, driving away with it followed by another suspect in the vehicle he had left.
Both vehicles drove a short distance before turning around and heading back to the party, Eisenman said, adding that one of the suspects intentionally struck a 17-year-old boy who was standing in the street.
“Suspect Two also intentionally ran over the victim, after he was lying on the ground,” she said.
Both vehicles fled the location and the teenager was pronounced dead at the scene. Eisenman did not have a description of the vehicles involved in the death, but Detective Jerry Gibson told ABC7 that they were a small SUV and a white Acura.
Anyone with information regarding the death was urged to call the LAPD’s Newton station at 323-846-6547 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.